Thanks for your article on selecting an IFR alternate airport (“Choosing An Alternate,” February 2018). It offered a solid review of the regulations on when an alternate is required to be filed and how to select one.
One thing from the article I’d like to emphasize is the difference between the filed, legal alternate and the real Plan B. The requirements for identifying and filing an alternate are designed to ensure we have options for when the weather forecast goes wrong, when someone lands gear-up on the runway or when an equipment malfunction—whether involving a ground-based navaid or a panel-mounted radio—means we can’t shoot the approach into our original destination.
